Reactivatable Tile Bonding Mat

ABSTRACT

Provided is a reactivatable tile bonding mat installable without cement-based thinset. The reactivatable tile bonding mat may include a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface and the bottom surface include a polymer hot-melt material. The polymer hot-melt material can be reactivatable by heating. The polymer hot-melt material can be adhesive with regard to a surface of at least one of concrete, wood, stone, tile and vinyl. The polymer hot-melt material creates bonding to the surface upon being heated to a pre-determined temperature. The polymer hot-melt material can be heated by convection heating. The polymer hot-melt material comprises a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a filler. The filler can include at least one of calcium carbonate, aragonite, silica, metal flake, and glass. The PET and the filler are mixed in a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymer hot-melt material having a pre-determined melting temperature.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S.Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/634,711, filed on Feb.23, 2018, titled “Methods of Installing Tile Using a Reactivatable TileBonding Mat,” and claims the priority benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/634,724, filed on Feb. 23, 2018, titled ReactivatableTile Bonding Mat, the subject matter of the aforementioned applicationsare incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. The presentapplication is also related to U.S. Non-Provisional patent applicationSer. No. ______ filed on February _, titled “Methods of Installing TileUsing a Reactivatable Tile Bonding Mat,” (Attorney Docket No. PA9043US),which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to field of tile installation, and morespecifically, this disclosure relates to reactivatable tile bonding matsinstallable without cement-based thinset.

BACKGROUND

Tiles are widely used for wall and floor coverings. Tiles can be made ofceramic, glass, porcelain, concrete, stone, and various compositematerials. Currently cement-based thinset is used to adhere the tiles tocover surfaces, such floors and walls. However, the use of thecement-based thinset for tile installation has disadvantages. First, itmakes hard to remove or replace tile after the tile is glued to asurface. Second, production of the cement used in cement-based thinsetis not environmentally friendly because it involves extensive emissionof carbon dioxide. Thirdly, the mixing of cement thinset creates adust-filled area with airborne silica being of concern.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described in the Detailed Descriptionbelow. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Generally, the present disclosure is directed to tile boding mats. Someembodiments of the present disclosure may allow installment of the tilewithout using a cement-based thinset.

According to one example embodiment of the present disclosure, areactivatable tile bonding mat is providing for installation withoutcement-based thinset. The reactivatable tile bonding mat may include atop surface and a bottom surface. The top surface and the bottom surfacemay include polymer hot-melt material. The polymer hot-melt material canbe reactivated by heating. The polymer hot-melt material may haveadhesive properties.

The polymer hot-melt material can be able to adhere to a surface of atleast one of concrete, wood, stone, tile and vinyl. The polymer hot-meltmaterial may bond to the surface after being heated to a pre-determinedtemperature. The strength of the bonding may be sufficient to satisfyone or more construction requirements for tile installation.

The top surface and the bottom surface can include a heat receptor andthe heating may be carried out with induction heating. The heat receptorcan be embedded in the polymer hot-melt material and include at leastone of metal flake, metallic fiber, powdered steel, and a steel screenmesh. The heating may also be carried out with convection heating. Theheating can be produced by a microwave heater and a heat gun.

The polymer hot-melt material may include a polyethylene terephthalate(PET) and a filler. The filler may include at least one of calciumcarbonate, aragonite, silica, metal flake, and glass. The filler can bemelted into the PET in a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymerhot-melt material with a pre-determined melting temperature. The polymerhot-melt material may include 20-50% by volume of the PET and 50%-80% byvolume of glass material. The glass material can be made of a recycledwindshield glass or other ground glass filler. The melting temperatureof the polymer hot-melt material can be higher than a temperatureproduced by a floor heating system.

The top surface and the bottom surface of the mat may include ahydrophobic material to cause the reactivatable tile bonding mat to bemoisture resistant. The top surface and the bottom surface further caninclude a crack suppressant membrane. In some embodiments, the topsurface and bottom surface may be carried out in a notch pattern. Thenotch pattern may include notches ½ inches wide and ⅜ inches deep and adistance between two neighboring notches can be ¼ inches. In someembodiments, the height between the top surface and the bottom surfacecan be between ½ inch to ¾ inch.

According to one example embodiment of the present disclosure, a methodfor manufacturing a reactivatable tile bonding mat installable withoutcement-based thinset is provided. The method may include using a polymerPET polyester and a filler. The filler may be melted into the polyesterin a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymer hot-melt materialhaving a pre-determined melting temperature. The method may furtherinclude forming, from the polymer hot-melt material, a mat having afirst surface and a second surface, wherein heating of the polymerhot-melt material causes the first surface to adhere to a tile and thesecond surface to adhere to a surface being covered by the tile.

Other example embodiments of the disclosure and aspects will becomeapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with thefollowing drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed disclosure and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for applying a reactivatable tile bondingmat, according to embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 2 illustrates a reactivatable tile bonding mat according toembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 3 illustrates another system for applying a reactivatable tilebonding mat, according to embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 4A illustrates a top view of a reactivatable tile bonding mat 115according to some embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 4B illustrates a side view of the reactivatable tile bonding mat ofFIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 illustrates a close up view of the top surface of a reactivatabletile bonding mat according to some embodiments of the presenttechnology.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing steps of a method for manufacturing of areactivatable tile bonding mat according to some embodiments of thepresent technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to oneskilled in the art, that the disclosure may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shownat block diagram form only in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure.

The technology disclosed herein is concerned with tile installation.Specifically, a reactivatable tile bonding mat that requires nocement-based thinset for installation is disclosed. In some embodiments,the reactivatable tile bonding mat includes material with adhesiveproperties on the top surface and the bottom surface. The top surfaceand the bottom surface can include a polymer hot-melt material that isreactivatable after heating, the polymer hot-melt material havingadhesive properties for adhering to concrete and other substratesactivated upon heating.

Technical effects of certain embodiments of the disclosure may provide amethod for installation of tiles without use of a cement-based thinsetby using a reactivatable tile bonding mat. Eliminating the need forcement-based thinset may result in reduction of the use and productionof cement-based products, and thereby reducing carbon dioxide emission.

Referring now to the drawings, various embodiments are described inwhich like reference numerals represent like parts and assembliesthroughout the several views. It should be noted that the reference tovarious embodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attachedhereto. Additionally, any examples outlined in this specification arenot intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the manypossible embodiments for the appended claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for applying a reactivatable tilebonding mat, according to some example embodiments of the presenttechnology. The system 100 may include a floor 105, a tile 110, and areactivatable tile bonding mat 115. The reactivatable tile bonding mat115 can be placed between the floor 105 and the tile 110. Heating 120can be applied to the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 to cause thereactivatable tile bonding mat to adhere by a first surface to the tileand by a second surface to the floor.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 for applying a reactivatable tilebonding mat, according to other example embodiments of the presenttechnology. The system 100 may include a floor 105, a tile 110, a floorheating system 150, and a reactivatable tile bonding mat 115. The floorheating system 150 can be built into the floor. The floor heating system150 may include electrically heated cables. The reactivatable tilebonding mat 115 can be positioned between the floor heating system 150and the tile 110. A heating 120 can be applied to the reactivatable tilebonding mat 115 to cause the reactivatable tile bonding mat to adhere bya first surface to the tile and by a second surface to the floor heatingsystem 150 and, lastly, to the floor 105.

FIG. 3 illustrates a reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 according toembodiments of the present technology. The reactivatable tile bondingmat 115 may include a first surface 125 adhering to a tile and a secondsurface 115 adhering to a surface on which the tile is to be installed.In some embodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 represents asheet made of a polymer hot-melt material having adhesive properties.The polymer hot-melt material can be adhering to the tile and the floor.The polymer hot-melt material can be adhesive with regards to one ormore materials that the tile or the floor is made of, for example,concrete, wood, stone, tile and vinyl. The width and length of thereactivatable tile bonding mat 110 can be substantially the same as thewidth and length of the tile 110. The length and width of thereactivatable tile bonding mat 110 may be, for example, 3 by 5 feet, 4by 8 feet, or of any other size. The thickness of the reactivatable tilebonding mat 110 can be, for example, from ½ to ¾ inches.

In an example embodiment, the polymer hot-melt material can be made of amixture of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a filler. The fillermay include one or more of calcium carbonate, aragonite, silica, metalflake, and glass. In some embodiments, the filler can be made ofrecycled windshield glass.

The filler in the polymer hot-melt material can be added for thefollowing reasons. First, the filler may stabilize temperature at whichthe polymer hot-melt material can melt. A pre-determined proportion ofthe filler to the PET can be selected to obtain the polymer materialwith a desired melting temperature for the polymer hot-melt material.The descried melting temperature of the polymer hot-melt material can behigher than a temperature produced by the floor heating system to allowthe reactivatable tile bonding mat to be used with floor heating systemswithout being melted. At the same time, the desired melting temperaturecan be low enough to allow heating 120 to be applied to thereactivatable tile bonding mat to cause melting of the polymer hot-meltmaterial. In some embodiments, the polymer hot-melt material may include20-50% by volume of the PET and 50-80% by volume of glass material.

Another reason for adding the filler is that the filler may provideextra support structure for the tile 110 when the tile 110 is positionedon top of the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115. Yet another reason foradding the filler is that the filler may replace, at least partially,the PET and thus reduce costs of manufacturing the polymer hot-meltmaterial and the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 because the filler(for example, recycled windshield glass) can be less expensive than thePET.

Heating 120 may include inductive heating or conductive heating. Theheating may be used to adhere the tile 110 to the surface of floor 105by melting the polymer hot-melt material. The heating can be also usedto remove the tile or adjust position of the tile already attached tothe floor by re-melting the polymer hot-melt material of thereactivatable tile bonding mat 115.

In some embodiment, the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 may include aheat receptor. In some embodiments, when heating is induction heating,the heat receptor may include on or more of metal flake, metallic fiber,powdered steel or a steel screen mesh, embedded in the polymer hot-meltmaterial. Heating may cause molecules of the hot receptor to stir up,which, in turn, causes the polymer hot-melt material to melt and createbonding to surfaces of the tile 110, the floor 105 and/or floor heatingsystem (if installed on the floor), and other surfaces on which the tilecan be installed.

In some embodiments, when relying on other heating methods (for exampleusing a microwave device, heat gun, and so forth) the reactivatable tilebonding mat 115 may include a porous, melt-bonded polyester that isnon-woven and has proven dimensional stability when, for example,subjected to changes in temperature and humidity.

In some embodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 may furtherinclude a hydrophobic material. The hydrophobic material can make thereactivatable tile bonding mat 115 moisture resistant. In someembodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 can also act as acrack suppressant membrane.

In various embodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat may include alow-melting point polymer or synthetic material impregnated with metalflake, metallic fibers, or a steel mesh. For example, the tile can beplaced on the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 as described above andbonded to the tile by heating the polymer hot-melt material.

In various embodiments, the tile and mat can be properly positioned andan induction heater can be passed over the top of the tile to melt themat and form a bond between the floor and the tile. The induction heatercan include a floor buffing machine generating a high frequencyalternating current. The current can inductively couple with the PETmix, thus setting up an alternating current flow through the metalimpregnated mat. In various embodiment, the mat would resistively heatand form a permanent bond with the tile and the floor. The inductionheater can be also be used to re-melt the mat and loosen the tile.

In some embodiments, parameters of bonding of a tile to a surface usingthe reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 can satisfy one or moreconstruction requirements. The requirements may include certain bondstrength, tensile strength, crack isolation, and water proofing.

FIG. 4A illustrates a top view of a reactivatable tile bonding mat 115according to some embodiments of the present technology. FIG. 4Billustrates a side view of the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115. InFIG. 4A and FIG. 4B the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 includes aplate 405 made of a polymer hot-melt material and a metal screen 410embedded in the plate 405. The metal screen 410 can function as a heatreceptor. When the mat 115 is placed between a tile and a floor, themetal screen 410 can be heated to cause the polymer hot-melt material ofthe plate 405 to melt. After being melted and cooled down, the plate 405may adhere to the tile and the floor.

FIG. 5 illustrates a close up view of a top surface of a reactivatabletile bonding mat according to some embodiments of the presenttechnology. In FIG. 4, the top surface comprises a notch pattern forenhanced bonding. The notches can be, for example, ½ inches wide and ⅜inches deep. A distance between two neighboring notches can be, forexample, ¼ inches.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing steps of a method for manufacturing of areactivatable tile bonding mat according to some example embodiments ofthe present technology. The method 600 may commence with providing apolymer PET polyester in block 605. In block 610, the method 600 mayproceed with providing a filler. The filler may include calciumcarbonate, aragonite, silica, metal flake, and glass.

In block 615, the method 600 may melt the filler in the polymer PETpolyester in a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymer hot-meltmaterial having a pre-determined melting temperature. In block 620, themethod may proceed with forming, from the polymer hot-melt material, amat of a predetermined length, width, and thickness. The mat can includea first surface and a second surface such that when the mat ispositioned between a tile and a surface to be covered by the tile,heating of the polymer hot-melt material causes the first surface toadhere to the tile and the second surface to adhere to the surface to becovered by the tile.

The present technology is described above with reference to exampleembodiments. Therefore, other variations upon the example embodimentsare intended to be covered by the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A reactivatable tile bonding mat installablewithout cement-based thinset, the reactivatable tile bonding matcomprising: a top surface; and a bottom surface, wherein the top surfaceand the bottom surface include a polymer hot-melt material, the polymerhot-melt material having adhesive properties and being reactivatable byheating.
 2. The reactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 1, wherein thepolymer hot-melt material is adhesive with regard to a surface of atleast one of concrete, wood, stone, tile and vinyl.
 3. The reactivatabletile bonding mat of claim 2, wherein the polymer hot-melt materialcreates bonding to the surface upon being heated to a pre-determinedtemperature.
 4. The reactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 3, wherein astrength of the bonding satisfies one or more construction requirementsfor tile installation.
 5. The reactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 1,wherein the top surface and the bottom surface include a heat receptorand the heating includes induction heating.
 6. The reactivatable tilebonding mat of claim 5, wherein the heat receptor is embedded into thepolymer hot-melt material and includes at least one of metal flake,metallic fiber, powdered steel, and a steel screen mesh.
 7. Thereactivatable tile boding mat of claim 1, wherein the heating includesconvection heating.
 8. The reactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 1,wherein the heating is produced by one of a microwave heater and a heatgun.
 9. The reactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 1, wherein thepolymer hot-melt material comprises a polyethylene terephthalate (PET)and a filler, the filler being at least one of calcium carbonate,aragonite, silica, metal flake, and glass.
 10. The reactivatable tilebonding mat of claim 9, wherein the filler is melted into the PET in apre-determined proportion to obtain the polymer hot-melt material with apre-determined melting temperature.
 11. The reactivatable tile bondingmat of claim 9, wherein the polymer hot-melt material comprises 20-50%by volume of the PET and 50-80% by volume of glass material.
 12. Thereactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 11, wherein the glass materialis made of a ground glass or a recycled windshield glass.
 13. Thereactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 1, wherein a melting temperatureof the polymer hot-melt material is higher than a temperature producedby a floor heating system.
 14. The reactivatable tile bonding mat ofclaim 1, wherein the top surface and the bottom surface include ahydrophobic material, the hydrophobic material causing the reactivatabletile bonding mat to be moisture resistant.
 15. The reactivatable tilebonding mat of claim 1, wherein the top surface and the bottom surfacefurther comprise a crack suppressant membrane.
 16. The reactivatabletile bonding mat of claim 1, wherein at least one of the top surface andbottom surface comprises a notch pattern.
 17. The reactivatable tilebonding mat of claim 16, wherein the notch pattern includes notches ½inches wide and ⅜ inches deep and a distance between two neighboringnotches is ¼ inches.
 18. The reactivatable tile bonding mat of claim 1,wherein the height between the top surface and the bottom surface isbetween ½ inch and ¾ inch.
 19. A method for manufacturing areactivatable tile bonding mat installable without cement-based thinset,the method comprising: providing a polymer polyethylene terephthalate(PET) polyester; providing a filler; melting the filler into the polymerPET polyester in a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymerhot-melt material having a pre-determined melting temperature; andforming, from the polymer hot-melt material, a mat having a firstsurface and a second surface, wherein heating of the polymer hot-meltmaterial causes the first surface to adhere to a tile and the secondsurface to adhere to a surface to be covered by the tile.
 20. Areactivatable tile bonding mat installable without cement-based thinset,the reactivatable tile bonding mat comprising: a top surface; and abottom surface, wherein the top surface and the bottom surface comprisesa polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) hot-melt material, thepolymer hot-melt material including a polyester and a filler mixed inpre-determined proportions, the polymer PET hot-melt material having apre-determined melting temperature, and wherein heating of the polymerhot-melt material to at least the pre-determined melting temperaturecauses the first surface to adhere to a tile and the second surface toadhere to a surface to be covered by the tile.